Selectors refused to pick any specialist spinner for the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI to face Zimbabwe in a three-day warm-up match and packed the 14-man squad with five pace bowlers. The squad, which was announced on Friday, included only two players from the regular Test side; Shamsur Rahman and Robiul Islam. ‘We included Shamsur Rahman in the squad as he did not get enough runs in the three-day practice match,’ selector Minhajul Abedin.
Dewan Sabbir, Shuvashish Roy, Mehdi Hasan Rana, will join Robiul and Muktar Ali in the pace attack.
The only spinner in the squad is Shbhagata Hom, who will mainly play as a batsman.
‘Naturally, we don’t want Zimbabwe to face too much spin bowling before the Test series,’ said Minhajul.
The three-day match will be held at Fatullah from October 20-22.
Squad: Shamsur Rahman, Shadman Islam, Marshall Ayub, Shubhagata Hom, Rony Talukder, Naeem Islam, Md Josimuddin (wicketkeeper), Dewan Sabbir, Shuvashish Roy, Mehdi Hasan Rana, Robiul Islam, Muktar Ali, Taibur Parvez and Asif Ahmed.
-With New Age input
